Chapter 9 - Donovan Mitchell FTW (Mia Blair's POV) FM/F, F/F [Part 5 of 7]
Julie: You see, Mia. Brendan was capable of getting over Red Letter Night. He really was. He tried his fucking damnedest to put it behind him. But some of you made that very difficult.
Mia: Nnnnmmmmmppppphhhhh hhhhmmmppphhhh mmmmppphhhhhhh!!!!
Julie: Do you remember our DG Halloween Party?
Mia remembered it well. It was a great party. Epic. It was also the first night that Julie had told off Mia for teasing Brendan about Red Letter Night. It was where she really got the impression that Julie’s thoughts on the night had shifted and that the other girls and her should be more cautious about how they talked about it around her. She appeared to be more sensitive about it now that she was dating their victim.
Mia: Mmmmppphhhhh hhhhhmmmpppphhhhh.
Julie: Do you remember Brendan’s costume?
Mia did. How could she forget it? He went as Tarzan or George of the Jungle. Just a loincloth. Also a pair of skin-toned ballet flats on his feet so he wasn’t totally barefoot. But the costume left very little to the imagination. It was skimpy. And she had THOROUGHLY enjoyed it. Brendan absolutely had a body for sin. And the less clothing that he was sporting…the better, as far as Mia was concerned. Brendan’s phenomenal lats and delts and calves and pecs were all on full display. As well as his six pack abs, which were probably the best of any that she’d ever seen that belonged to a friend and contemporary and not some celebrity or professional athlete. It had been a very revealing costume, but he’d worn it shamelessly and confidently.
Mia: Mmmmppphhhh hhhhhmmmmppphhhhhh.
Julie: Do you remember WHY he was wearing that costume?
Mia: Nnnnnnmmmmppppphhhhhhhh.
Mia didn’t really have a clue. When you’ve got it…flaunt it. That was her guess. At least that’s the way that she saw it.
Julie: Come on, Mia. We talked about this. You weren’t that drunk. And it was only three months ago. Think back a little harder.
Mia tried to remember the events leading up to the Halloween party. She remembered talking to Julie one night about her costume. Brendan didn’t want to come to the party at all. He never really wanted to come to DG parties. Maybe he wasn’t much of a drinker. Maybe he had social anxiety. Mia could never be sure. Julie had talked him into it. Julie and Brendan had decided that they were going to pick each other’s costumes. They would wear whatever the person picked for them. OK. Mia was remembering this now. Julie clearly must have dressed Brendan. She remembered talking to her about it now.
Mia: Mmmmmmppphhhhhh!!! Mmmmmpppphhhhh!!!!
Julie: You remember?
Mia: Mmmmpppphhhhh hhhhmmmmppphhhh.
Mia couldn’t make Julie understand her but she shook her head towards Julie hoping that her sorority sister would know that she remembered that Julie had chosen the costume. And she’d chosen well. Brendan had looked so god damn hot at that party.
Julie: That’s right. He wore it because I bought it for him. I put him in that costume. And I did so because YOU got in my head, Mia.
Mia: HHhmmmmpppppphhhhhh?!?!?
How was this Mia’s fault? She certainly wasn’t ready to make that leap.
Julie: I told you that Brendan and I were picking each other’s costumes. You told me that he was probably trying to get back at me for embarrassing him. That he’d have me wear some sort of skimpy Playboy bunny outfit or other demeaning getup. Something with a butt hugging leotard or that showed a lot of cleavage. That he’d try and show off my body as a prize that he claimed. Do you remember this?
Mia now vaguely remembered this. It had been in early October, almost a month before the party. They were only a month back into the school year and she thought it was odd that Brendan was dating Julie. She had been teasing Julie. And she was a little tipsy at the time. Clearly she had gotten to Julie.
Julie: So I decided that two could play at that game. I’d get him a provocative costume to match my own. And do you remember what MY costume was at that party, Mia?
Mia did remember. It had been great. The attention to detail. The execution. The casual sexiness. Julie had gone as Carmen Sandiego. And she had absolutely rocked it. It had been a total hit. Sultry and well done, but not provocative or demeaning as she might have expected.
Mia: Mmmmpppppphhhhh hhhhhhmmmmppppphhhhhh.
Mia now felt a little guilty. She realized that that costume must have been picked by Brendan. And…way to go, Brendan.
Julie: I went as Carmen Sandiego. It wasn’t licentious or exploitive. And he didn’t phone it in and just order a skimpy joke costume off Amazon like I did. It wasn’t from some Carmen Sandiego costume set. He got my measurements. He shopped around. He created a really thoughtful, bespoke, and well done costume. He wasn’t trying to embarrass me. He was trying to make me stand out in a good way. And do you know why he chose that costume, Mia?
Mia felt a pang of guilt hit her with force. She shouldn’t be feeling guilt right now. She was the one that was being mistreated. But she did view herself as a mentor and guide to her younger sorority sisters and clearly she’d made a misstep. She’d misjudged somebody and it didn’t feel great.
Mia: Hhhmmmmppppphhhhhhh??
Julie: He chose it. Because that’s what he finds sexy. Don’t get me wrong…he LOVES my body. But I’m more than that to him. I’m his Carmen Sandiego. She's smart. She's beautiful. She's crafty. She's worldly and cultured and very well traveled. Mischievous, but also canonically empathetic. The total package. She'll steal your heart right after she steals Munch's The Scream and then somehow steals Angor Wat. Don’t ask how she does that last one. And somehow he sees all of that in ME. And he wanted me to be comfortable and confident while also standing out at our party. It was really thoughtful.
Mia could tell that Julie was starting to get a little bit emotional now.
Julie: And it felt REALLY, REALLY bad showing him his costume mere minutes after he showed me mine. I almost thought it would be better just to say that I’d forgotten about the whole thing and that I didn’t have a costume for him. But I didn’t. I gave him his insulting, phoned in costume and he THANKED me for it.
Mia: Mmmmmmppppphhhhhhhrrrmmmpppphhhhh hhhhmmmpppphhhhhh mmmpppphhhhhhhhhh.
Mia felt bad. But she hardly saw this as her fault. She’d given Julie some bad advice. But Julie was a grown woman who made her own choices. Tying Mia up and tormenting her for gifting Brendan with an embarrassing costume was yet another example of Julie not taking responsibility for her own actions.
Julie: For weeks I’d been excited to tie Brendan up in that sexy little costume. But obviously I couldn’t do it. That was too big of an ask that night. Not only did I feel terrible about the exchange. I probably wouldn’t have been able to bring myself to ask him. But you had to open your big, insipid mouth and ruin any chance that he might be in the mood for that.
Mia remembered what had happened that night. She clearly enjoyed teasing Brendan. And that had been the first night that Julie had really reamed her out for it. They’d been standing around. He’d looked so delectable in his revealing outfit. One of her sorority sisters had made a fairly thirsty remark to him about the amount of skin that he was showing and Julie had retorted: “I’ve seen him wearing significantly less. Remember that, Brendan?” Brendan had gotten immediately flushed. He’d squirmed uncomfortably and silently dismissed himself. She’d felt good about the zinger in the moment. But somehow it had gotten back to Julie, she’d assumed through Brendan, and Julie had let her know that she was being a bitch and that the events of that night were in the past and we should leave them there. She did not want Brendan being teased or provoked regarding his fraternity initiation. Mia had apologized to calm Julie down. But she hadn’t really heeded the demand. That night had been legendary. It was too good of a time not to reminisce on. She still teased Brendan. She still talked about it. She just made a more concerted effort to hide it as a topic of conversation from Julie.
Julie: Between you and me, I think that Brendan has to put up with a lot at our house. It’s not fair to him. This might be something that hasn’t properly clicked with you yet…but that’s a pretty traumatic place for him.
Mia: Mmmmmppppphhhhhrrmmmppppphhhhh hhhhhhmmmpppphhhhh mmmpppphhhhh!!!
Julie: Save it, Mia! I’m talking now.
Mia: Hhmmmmpppppphhhh!!!!
Julie: I know that you all tease him. And you know that I don’t like that. But he tries to put on a strong face and shield me from how much it bothers him. But I found out something even more troubling recently. Something that I’m not as willing to just forgive or shrug aside.
Mia started to squirm. OK. So Julie had punishment on her mind. What for? What slight did Julie think that Mia had committed that she needed to get retribution for?
Julie: I found out recently that there are pictures and videos of what happened to Brendan last year making the rounds. That seemed impossible to me. That was STRICTLY FORBIDDEN! You were the one who forbade it. We were all very clear on that. This was something that was touch and go and we did not need it getting out.
Mia froze. Her whole body went rigid and cold. She now was gathering exactly what this was about. She’d definitely shared the media with some close friends. She’d even distributed the video a couple of times. Thinking it would stay under wraps. She had made the rules that none of them were to share the video. That had been more for their protection than for Brendan’s. She had been worried at the time that they could get in trouble. But with Julie DATING Brendan…she didn’t see that as much of a concern at present. And that night had made her a legend in the halls of Delta Gamma. Inquiring minds wanted to know about them. And she probably had been indiscreet in satiating the curiosity. But she realized that it was wrong. She’d realized that before now, but the weight of the wrongness of it was certainly crashing over her in her current vulnerable and pathetic state. And she felt bad. But she also felt scared. Scared about the potential consequences of her indiscretion. Hopefully, she could talk Julie down a little bit once the gag came out of her mouth. She’d let her know that she was sorry. Sincerely sorry. Not just saying it to avoid retribution. What she had done was definitely unacceptable. A bitch move for sure. And she definitely felt guilt creeping in. It hadn’t been fair to Brendan.
Julie: It’s not fair that my boyfriend doesn’t feel comfortable in my own fucking house! Devin and Ryan and Liam and Adam all enjoy coming over to DG. And my boyfriend fucking hates it there! We pride ourselves on being welcoming. And yet I cannot get him to feel welcome! Gee…I wonder fucking WHY!
Mia was taken aback. Julie was normally very in control. Raising her voice like this was somewhat out of character. And Mia felt awful. She realized that she’d made no proper effort to make Brendan feel welcome, but hadn’t really realized how hard it was for him. He certainly hid it well. He put on a good show whenever he came around.
Julie: So I tried to figure out who was leaking all of this smut to our friends. I was really hoping it wasn’t you, Mia. I really wanted it to not be YOU! But I think in my heart that I always knew that it was. Don’t get me wrong…it wasn’t ONLY you. But you are far and away the most egregious offender. And it kills me. What were you thinking? How fucking could you?!?!
Julie’s voice cracked multiple times in the previous couple of sentences. Mia could see that tears had pricked her friend’s eyes and she was beginning to cry. Mia felt tears welling in her own eyes. She could see genuine hurt and anger in her friend’s face. Mia had been furious just minutes ago with the fun, cheeky way that Julie had called her a “smarmy, little minx”. That had been so demeaning and infuriating. But now she found herself wishing she could go back to that. She wanted fun Julie. She wanted playful Julie. The girl in front of her was clearly hurt and embittered. Mia felt terrible. She had been trying to raise her own profile by sharing the videos. She hadn’t been trying to hurt anybody. But of course she had. You’d have to be a blind idiot not to see that. She’d just never really considered the cost. She’d done Brendan dirty and she sincerely wished that she could take things back. It had been an absolute betrayal.
Julie: No. Seriously. What were you thinking? It’s clear that you don’t five a FLYING FUCK about Brendan, but what about me?
Mia was startled. She did care about Brendan. She’d definitely done something terrible to him. But she did like him. And she was deeply troubled that he was apparently so deeply troubled.
Julie: If his happiness and reputation isn’t enough for you, what about mine?!?! He’s my boyfriend. And I don’t particularly like the fact that dozens of my friends and acquaintances have seen high definition video of the worst thing that I’ve ever done. We don’t look cool in those videos, Mia. We look like god damn psychos!
Mia: Mmmmmmpppppppprrrrmmmmmppppphhhhhhhh!!!!! Hhhhhmmmmmppppppphhhhhh!!!!!! Mmmmmmppppphhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! Mmmmpppphhhhhhhhh!!!!! Hhhhmmmmmmpppphhhrrrmmmmmm nnnnnnmmmmppppphhhhhh mmmpppphhhhhh!!!! Nnnnnmmpppphhhhhh!!!!!!
There was so much that Mia wanted to say right now. She wanted to explain herself as best she could, but the strict gag turned her pleading explanations into nonsense even to her own ears. She sounded pathetic and miserable. She wanted to tell Julie that she was sorry. That she knew that she was wrong. That it had simply been a massive lapse in judgement. That she didn’t know that it was doing nearly as much damage as it was. That it had only been to a handful of people. She’d wanted to feel important and powerful. She’d deluded herself into thinking that it was OK because Brendan was dating Julie. And how much could he have really hated his torment if he’d gotten into a relationship with his tormentor. Mia wanted to tell her that she was sorry and that she’d make nice with Brendan and make it her highest priority that he always felt safe and welcome and valued at DG House from now on. But none of this was coming through. She simply sounded like a gargling, gibberish-spouting lunatic.
Julie: No need to answer now, honey. There will be plenty of time for that later. I mean, we’ve got a boatload of time to hear all of your silly, self-aggrandizing excuses. Do you know why it was so important that I do this to you today of all days?
Mia: Hhhmmmmpppppphhh?!?!?
Mia had not thought about this even slightly. Today was just a day. A Monday. She’d just gotten back from holiday break. The Bulls had been playing the Cavaliers. Wasn’t that why this was happening today? That was the bet.
Julie: We’ve got a lot of stuff to work out, Mia. I’ve got some things that I need to fix. And fixing them might take some time. I need to make sure that I stop the spread of all these pictures and videos. So I hope you don’t mind but I went through your room and collected a bunch of things. Here’s what I found.
Julie walked over to a large bag against the far wall and started pulling out electronics. Mia’s laptop came out. Then her older out-dated laptop came out. Next was an iPad that she owned. This was followed by two 1TB external hard drives that she kept in her closet. And finally a box full of USB drives and sim cards that she had to assume were hers.
Julie: I was pretty thorough. I really hope that I got everything that might contain your copies of the video and the photos. They’re all going away. All of them. Do I make myself clear?
Mia: Mmmmmpppphhhhh hhhhhmmmmpppphhhhh!!!!
Mia nodded. Of course. She’d proven herself untrustworthy of possessing them. She understood that. She’d hate to see them go. But there was no way around this. This was an obvious concession.
Julie: So, it’s going to take me a while to verify that you have no more access to the media in question. It could take DAYS.
Mia: HHHHmmmmmmmppppphhhhhhhh?!?!!?!?? Nnnnnnmmmmmppppppphhhhhhh!!!!!!! Nnnnnmmmmmmpppppphhhhhhh!!!!!!!
Julie: Oh. Yes, yes, yes. You’re back from holiday break early. Classes won’t start until the 11th. And I don’t see that you have anywhere that you need to be. So nobody is really going to miss you for the next nine days. Hopefully, that will be enough time for us to work out what we need to work out.
Surely Julie had to be joking. Nine days?!?!?! Absolutely not!! That was savage!! That was barbaric!! That was insane!! That was kidnapping. That was slavery. This was no longer revenge. This was no longer a joke or a prank or a punishment. Holding an unwilling person for nine days was the depths of lunacy. It was criminal.
Julie: And you’re going to tell me every password that I want to know. You’re going to help me into your cloud. Any file sharing accounts that you have. Your DeviantArt account. Your WeTransfer account. Your Flikr account. All of your emails. We’re going to see if you’ve discussed it with people on Instagram or Discord or Facebook or Formspring. Whatever I ask…you’re coughing it up…capiche?
Mia: Mmmmmmppppphhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Hhhhhmmmmmmppppphhhhh mmmmmmpppphhhhhhhh mmmmppppphhhhhhhh mmmpppphhhhhhh!!!!!
Mia was nodding vigorously. She’d give it all up. Everything. She didn’t even have half of those things that Julie had mentioned. Flikr? Formspring? Did anybody have those anymore? But she’d tell Julie whatever she wanted to know. There was no reason that this needed to take nine days. They could get this all banged out this evening. They’d get it sorted. She’d apologize. Profusely. They could put this whole idiotic mess behind them. She’d assist in any way possible. Julie needed to know that.
Mia: Mmmmmpppphhhhrhrrmmmmppphhhh hhhhhhmmmpppphhhh nnnnnmmmmppphhhh mmmppphhhhhhhh!!!
Julie: And you’re going to tell me EVERY person that you’ve shared things with. I’ve got a lengthy list, but I’m not sure that it’s complete. So you’re going to be a very helpful girl with a very good memory, because if you forget anybody that is already on my list…you’re toast.
Mia’s mind was now racing. She was now starting to remember just how many people she’d shared pictures and video with. If you’d asked her an hour ago…she’d have said ten. But as her mind cycled through people desperately trying to make sure to leave no stone unturned…it had to be at least 40. How could she have gotten so carried away? How could she have been so imprudent? Mia was starting to understand Julie’s position more and more and was fully disgusted with her own behavior. Julie looked at her with disdain and largely vicious intent. The cruel smile that had curled onto her friends lips began to scare Mia.
Julie: You want to tell me everything right now? Give it all up?
Mia: Mmmmmppppphhhhhhhh hhhhhhhmmmmppppphhhhhhh!!!!!
That’s exactly what Mia wanted. She was a prisoner because she’d been reckless and selfish. They may as well start rectifying things so that the healing can began.
Julie: I’m sure you do. But we’ll have time for that later. First…we’re going to have some fun with you. Tonight is going to be all about letting Brendan and I explore our little trussed and stuffed plaything. We have plenty of fun games for you to play.
Games? Oh God! Mia was desperate. The time for dignity had passed. She needed to throw herself upon Julie’s mercy. Beg and beseech her to ease up and take pity on her.
Mia: Mmmmmmmmppppphhhhhh mmmmmppppppphhhhhhh mmmmmpppppphhhhhh mmmmppppphhhhhhhhh!!!!
She mewled into her gag. She begged and pleaded. She realized that she had fucked up. But Julie was her friend. One bad decision, even one this bad, shouldn’t be able to completely erase multiple years of friendship and loyalty.
Julie: Yeah. We’re going to have some real fun tonight. Give you a little taste of your own medicine.
Mia: Nnnnnmmmmmpppppphhhhhh!!!!! Nnnnnnnmmmmpppphhhh mmmmppphhhhh hhhmmmpppphhhhhhh!!!!!
Julie: Oh. Yes yes yes. You’re going to play these games. And you’re going to try your hardest to win. Otherwise there will be GRAVE consequences for failure.
Mia: Hhhhmmmmmmppppppphhhhhhh?!?!?
Grave consequences? What could she possibly mean?
Julie: You see, Mia. You’re not the only person that I’ve lied to. I lied to Brendan. I promised him that I’d fix what you did. But we both know that that is not an easy or even possible task. What’s done is done.
Mia: Mmmmmmpppphhhhhhmmmmm…
Mia let out a distraught whimper. Julie was right. Damage had been done that couldn’t simply be undone.
Julie: I told Brendan that I could put the toothpaste back in the tube. That I’m that good. But we know that I’m not that good. The toothpaste is never going back in the tube.
Mia: Mmmmmpppphhhhhh mmmmmppppphhhhhh nnnmmmppphhrhrrmmmmm mmmmmmmmmm!!!!!
They could TRY. They could fix this. She’d do anything to fix things at this point. Julie was right, clean up would be tough. But she was willing to put in the effort.
Julie: No. The best that I can do for him is to make people forget that the toothpaste ever existed. And in order to do that…I need to change the narrative. I need to give them a bigger story. One that will distract them from what they know about him. Something that will paint him in a brand new light.
Mia did not like where this was going at all. The way that this monologue was rolling off Julie’s tongue when she was as thoroughly helpless as she was couldn’t be leading anywhere that she was comfortable with. She began to squirm and buck with increased vigor.
Julie: I want people to see that Brendan is actually a dominant force. He’s somebody to be respected. And potentially even feared, if you’re the type of person that steps out of line. That’s why I picked up a couple of things for our time together.
Mia watched with rapt attention as Julie sauntered over to the bookcase and picked up something off one of the shelves. She then walked over to the mantle over the fireplace and picked up another item which she could see was white and about the size of a paperweight. She thought that it looked very similar to whatever it was that Julie had grabbed off the bookshelf.
Julie: Any clue what these are, Mia?
This Revenge is truly a dish served cold - but there is a thin line Julie might not want to cross - and turn into a total Sadist ... but we will see how this unfolds. Nicely done 
